Synonyms

Definition

Shifts in attraction, in both men and women, during ovulation.

Introduction

Although women typically benefit most from engaging in long-term mating strategies (i.e., attaining and maintaining long-term, committed romantic partners), women can benefit from engaging in short-term mating strategies during ovulation – the short window of time in which the likelihood of conception is most probable. Recent research has suggested that in order to simultaneously reap the benefits associated with both short- and long-term mating, women have evolved dual-mating strategies. Consistent with this idea of dual mating, women’s attraction to short-term mates who may offer genetic benefits to potential offspring increases during ovulation. Notably, these ovulatory shifts manifest through (a) changes in women’s mate preferences such that women more strongly prefer traits associated with high genetic quality, (b) changes...